In Dreams
by Hobbit Freak
Summary: A rouge like Pippin? A rouge like Diamond? Is it possible that two hobbits could hate each other so much? Or perhaps could love be stronger between two such rouges? A first-time fanfiction recently released!
1. Tookishly So

J.M.J.

A\N: This was my first fanfiction, and I just now decided to post it. Tell me what you think of it, since it is complete. It's a little funny, the way the hobbits interact, and it has a different style from my newer works. Review please! Thanks: Hobbit Freak.

**Chapter One: Tookishly So**

Pippin woke up to the sound of his cousin shaking him awake. "Pip! PIPPIN! GET UP! Its half past nine and you are late!" Merry said with annoyance brimming over in his speech. "Yes, well go away, I want to sleep. . . ." Pippin groggily murmured. "My goodness Peregrin! You are so unreliable, you make all these promises, that you never seem to carry out, and the whole Shire knows it!" Merry fumed before dumping Pippin off his bed with a twist of an arm. "Oh, ah, five more minutes, Merry." The sleepy hobbit whined.

"And you _still_ want to sleep, after this whole lecture?"

Merry could not believe how his cousin acted sometimes.

"Alright Pippin. It's your choice to be a lazy, slothful, whiny, incompetent person!"

This was too much for our hobbit in question, tired though he was. Jumping up, he yelled, "_I AM NOT LAZY_! **NOR** _WHINY_!" Merry smiled in his mind. "Well Pippin, then I suggest that you get dressed and head over there and start working." The older hobbit said, handing Pippin his shirt. "Fine, you get your way, what's for breakfast?" Pippin yawned. Merry ran a hand down his face.

"Why do I even bother with you? Please tell me. . . . no, no, don't. You'll probably say something so stupid it'll ruin the rest of my day, so just get a move on."

And with that he left the room. "_Oh bother!__"_Peregrin thought, pulling his blouse over his head. "_I __**am**__ unreliable.__"_

"**Pippin! Get. Out. Here. Now!**"

"Never can escape that Meriadoc!" Pippin chuckled. - - -

Pippin looked out at the Brandywine River, once beautiful and sparkling, but now it was a scene of ruin. Alas for that, with work, it could be restored from its present condition. Pippin scanned the river's banks. "Looks like I'm not the only one who's late!" He exclaimed. A hobbit was wondering around by itself.

"Hey you there!"

Shouting, he ran over to the other. As Pippin approached, he came to a dead stop. "Oh, it's you." They both said at the same time. Pippin looked up and down the other hobbit, saying, "May I ask _why_ you are wearing lads clothing, Diamond?" The lass scowled, her deep golden hair framed her face. "I just thought it would be easier to work in." She mumbled. Pippin stared at her blouse and trousers with eyes full of disgust; it was rather unorthodox for hobbit lasses to wear that sort of thing. "You came to help?" He asked. "What else would I be doing, Peregrin?" Diamond sneered.

"Well I'm going to . . ."

"I'm not going to work with you!" She interrupted quickly. "Well I don't want to work with you either!" Pippin yelled back.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

And off they stomped in different directions. An hour later, Pippin was dragging a long and crude chain out of the muddy bank, as he himself was covered in the stuff. "I . . . wish . . . gosh this is heavy! That Di' would come over here and help me . . . argh!" A thunderbolt cracked overhead. "Uh-oh. I'd better stop for today; a trip to Gondor couldn't keep me out in this weather!" he said to himself. With the wind picking up to a tremendous speed, he climbed over the crest of the bank, only to come face to face with Diamond.

"Peregrin, I came over here to warn you about the storm. You had better head home if there's any sense in that stupid brain of yours." She scoffed. With a struggle, Pippin pulled himself over the edge and huffed, "I really don't see why you think I'm so stupid as to stay out in this weather. You're the ridiculous one for coming over here to TELL ME SOMETHING I ALREADY KNOW!" Diamond's green eyes flashed at his words.

"Well Pippin, at least I'm not A STUCK UP SPOILED THAIN'S BOY!"

Pippin, more than anything, _hated_ to be called spoiled and stuck up. Just because he was the Thain's son, it didn't mean he was spoiled. But of course, Diamond, in her usual way, kept going, "And furthermore, you hang around that _idiotic_ cousin of yours, that, that, _Meriadoc!_" Pippin was now thoroughly roused. Standing up to his full height, which was exactly four feet tall, he glared down at the little lass who was a constant terror to him.

"_That Meriadoc_ just happens to be my first cousin and closest companion! You don't know anything about anything; you're just a midget pest! An annoying midget pest!"

Diamond was unnerved, exclaiming sardonically, "Well you don't have any room to talk, you're overgrown! _And_ you have a swollen head! It's always _Pippin this_ and _Pippin that_ and_ Oh Pippin, you__'__re such a hero!_ Bah! If I didn't know better, I give you a piece of my mind!" Pippin rolled his eyes to the extreme.

"Di', you just did. You always do! It's a known fact that you _will_ give me a piece of your mind every time you lay eyes on me. You've been doing it since you were five years old!"

Lightning lit up the darkening sky. "**Enough! **I'm going home, and you will not harass me anymore! Goodbye!" Said Pippin as he took a few uncertain steps in the opposite direction, but came to a stop as it suddenly started pouring down rain in torrents. "Okay," He said slowly, turning back around to Diamond. ", it looks like I'm stuck with you. I don't want to be stuck with you, but it looks like I am." Diamond looked at him like he was a poisonous snake.

"I do not need your help,_ hero._ You might be a celebrated warrior in some other places, but us North-Tooks know better. You're a _wanna-be._"

Pippin just couldn't bear it any longer; didn't she know that the King, the_ King_ mind you, gave him the honorable title of _Troll__'__s Bane?_ "My goodness Peregrin, who do you think you are?" Diamond snubbingly laughed. "I'LL TELL YOU WHO I AM!" Pippin roared. "I am a knight of the third citadel of Gondor, a _TROLL__'__S BANE! _And YOU happen to be MY bane at the moment, you, you, you little cock-a-whoop!" Diamond set her hands on her hips.

"I am the cock-a-whoop? YOU are the one who seems to be swaggering about like you're something else!"

"I am something else! I'm spectacular! I'm the _Ernil i Perriath!__"_

"What in the Shire are you sputtering on about? You're not swaggering, you're just plain crazy! That's right, Pippin,_ you-are-crazy_!"

Pippin hadn't won a fight yet with her, not in twenty-five years, so he had to let it go. He sighed, "Alright Diamond, you get your way, no matter how wrong you may be. I'll take you home now; this storm is getting worse by the second." Diamond folded her hands across her chest.

"I don't think my brother would want a lunatic taking me home, so until you leave, I'm staying right here."

Pippin heaved a heavy sigh and threw his hands up in the air, saying with exasperation, "That's it, you wee stupid lassie! You are not going home alone!" And with that, he threw a kicking and screaming Diamond over his shoulder and marched off in the direction of his favorite shortcut.

"**AHHHHHH!** PEREGRIN TOOK! UNHAND ME THIS VERY INSTANT, OR I SHALL CALL THE SHERIFFS ON YOU!"

Pippin, with ease, held Diamond securely over his shoulder. "I personally got rid of them until Merry can construct an honest band again, understand?" He quickly explained, enjoying it all the while. "No, no, no! You are abducting me. I'll make sure this gets out to the public!" Diamond shouted, whipping her wet hair off her face and trying to free herself.

"Shut it, Di'! I need to focus on where I am going, this shortcut doesn't look very familiar."

Pippin worriedly searched the forest that was surrounding him and Diamond. _I don__'__t seem to remember this part of the woods . . . hmmm, I__'__d better not tell Diamond, and then she__'__d start to tell me off about getting her lost! _Pippin thought while trying to hold on to Diamond, who was struggling to get loose.

"Alright, Diamond! I'll let you down; just don't hurt yourself for heaven's sake!"

Pippin quickly tried to set her down, but fumbled and dropped her on her rear. "Oh you fool! You are _so_ clumsy; I don't know why you had to man handle me!" Diamond yelled, tugging at her hair in frustration. "And I'm going to have to do it again if you are going to refuse to come out of the rain." Pippin said, walking briskly over to a large, hollow log. "I shall not indulge your spoiled wishes." She abruptly stated. "Well then," Pippin sighed, turned around, and picked Diamond up off the ground.

"PEREGRIN! YOU. ."

_Thud._ She was sat roughly down and pushed into the log. Pippin went over to the other side and climbed in. After a few minutes of silence and the rain softly pattering on the top of the log, Pippin coughed and broke the silence.

"Mm-hm, well so Di', how has things been over in Long Cleeve? I've heard that the crops this year have produced a full harvest."

No answer. Pippin shifted uncomfortably. "I guess you've heard about my adventures." He muttered. As soon as the words had left his lips, Pippin regretted them._ That is the one thing she __**doesn**__**'**__**t **__want to hear about! Why did I say that?_ Surprisingly, Diamond craned her neck around, and said, "Tell me. I haven't heard anything about them, if they're true, which they're probably not." she added, "But I want to know what it was like." Pippin closed his eyes._ What was it like?_ Well, that _was_ a question! How could he answer?

"It was something that was once in a lifetime thing . . . I can't explain it, it was something that. . . Oh, I can't explain it! But I'll tell you about it anyways."

And he did. For the next six hours, Pippin had Diamond roaring with laughter, blinking to cover up tears, and wondering in disbelieving awe as he related to her his travels. The storm had passed, too.


	2. Watch Your Elvish

**J.M.J.**

**Chapter Two: Watch Your Elvish**

"Ohhh my back! Where am I? Oh. Right." Pippin groaned as he awoke to a sore back and an aching head.

"Oh my goodness, I've got a lot of explaining to do when I get back!"

He painfully crawled out of the log, saying with strain, "Boy am I out of shape, haven't slept on the ground since . . . well that doesn't matter. Hey! Where's Di'?" Looking back inside the log, Pippin noticed that Diamond wasn't there. "Now where in the Bullroarer's name is is that girl?" He wondered, squinting an eye. "I'M UP HERE!" came a shout from above. Pippin's eyes widened with astonishment as the topmost bough of a pine tree came swooping down to his level. "Hello." Diamond said, clinging onto the branch and smiling as far as the corners of her mouth would stretch. "What are you doing_?!__"_ Pippin tried to yell, but the words only came out in a whisper.

"Don't _do_ that! Just stay right there, and I'll try and find a way to get you off of there."

Diamond shook her head and swung her body to the underside of the branch, then dropped off. The limb sprang back up towards the sky. Pippin gave a nervous laugh and wagged a finger at her.

"Ohhhh no, you can't just get away with that, little miss!"

"Ohhhh yes. I most certainly can!" She saucily answered back with a cock of an eyebrow, "I thought I might be able to get a better view of the surrounding woods from up there. Ya' know how it is." Pippin sighed. "Please use proper speech, Diamond, "ya" is not proper, therefore do not say it." "Súrë túla cendeletyallo!" Diamond exclaimed, turning around and skipping away. "**Diamond!** How do know what that means? You've been studying, haven't you? Why I've fallen into one of your façades again! Oh my goodness, how could I have been so stupid?!" "Faica umbar!" Diamond laughed, doubling over. "Eca, a mitta lambetya cendelessë orcova!" Pippin yelled at the top of his lungs. Diamond's mouth hung open. "That as one the worst insults anybody has ever dared utter to me!" She gasped. "Why I have a mind to go and tell that vagabond cousin of yours what you just said!"

"How do you know he doesn't say the same thing. . ." Pippin mumbled under his breath, earning a resounding slap.

"Owwww. . . Diiiiii'! Come on, I didn't mean it!"

"Yaivë!" Diamond shouted. "But I wasn't mocking you!" Pippin protested.

"I want to go home."

"Fine Diamond Took. We'll leave this accursed place once and for all." Diamond laughed with wide eyes, running a hand through her hair. "Would you stop being so poetical?" she asked. "_You__'__re _the one who started speaking High Elvish!" Pippin said, annoyed.

"Well, I must show the world how brilliant I am and how ignorant you are. And don't try and contradict me, I remember you before you were a _norsa_! Really, not the sharpest tool in the shed. That idiot Merry used to drag you from place to place, and you never had a thought in your head. My _yesta_ was that you would brighten up someday. . ."

"QUIT USING QUENYA!" Pippin fiercely said through gritted teeth, "And I am NOT a giant! And I did have a thought running through my brain, I WAS JUST A QUIET CHILD!"

"Well I bet you still can't speak High Elvish _fluently. . .__"_ Diamond said with a sarcastic tone. "YOU BET I CAN!" Pippin yelled and then went in to a long rambling of Quenya and Sindarin combined, plus a little Roheric now and then. Finishing with a loud last, "Nátyë necindo!" "Oh. My. Word." Diamond gulped by the end of his little outburst. "Now have you learned your lesson? If you didn't believe anything I've told you about, then you are one of the worst cases of ignorance in hobbits that I have ever seen." Pippin sourly said, "And **my**_ yesta_ is that I'll never see you again after this!" He concluded.

While all this was going on, Merry had been worried sick, and was blaming it all on himself for sending Pippin out there. Diamond's brother was also in a terrible state, saying that that little cock-a-whoop probably abducted his sister Diamond who was out there as well. Well, he wasn't far from the truth. Merry had tried to calm him down, of course not succeeding. "Mr. Took," He had said, "Diamond, if anything, is in good hands if she is with Peregrin. Please, I'll go out and look for them ma' self."

"What! My own sister with that ridiculous boy?! Mr. Brandybuck, I trust you, but not that young fellow. He's trouble, mark my words!" Ferbenas Took had exclaimed.

"Here now, I won't have you talking about my cousin like that anymore. Please be assured that I will find them."

Then Merry had uttered quietly under his breath, "And I don't think Diamond is exactly a damsel in distress either!" As Merry always kept his word, he begrudgingly set out to find the two. _If Pippin went down his stupid shortcut again, then no wonder they are lost. And he probably did. If that crazy Diamond isn__'__t with that fool of a Took then I__'__m going to get it from Ferbenas! __**And**__ if I__'__m not back by supper, Estella__'__s going to kill me, because Fatty is coming over tonight._ These thoughts drifted through Merry's head as he walked through Throughbrier wood; the one about being late was the most bothersome.

"HEY PIPPIN! ARE YOU HERE? **IF YOU JUMP OUT AND SCARE ME, I****'****M GOING TO MURDER YOU ORC FASHION, AND YOU KNOW HOW THAT FEELS!****"**

A not so distant sound was heard ringing across the forest, "Yah! I'm here. You'd better come and find me, because I'm lost! OW! I mean, I lost Diamond, OW! I mean, Diamond is beating me up, OW! **I mean Diamond and I are lost, TOGETHER!****"**

"Hey Pippin you can stop shouting now, I'm right here you nut head."

Merry smirked. Pippin coughed and rubbed his head. "Right. Okay, let's get on it young lad! Estella's going to give it to you for being late for supper, especially since ol' Fatty fat fatty is coming over for some of his sister's cooking."

"Pippin, do you not think I _**have thought of that yet?!**__**"**_ Merry cried, putting his hands to the sides of his head and shaking it back and forth. "Alright, alright! Gosh, don't get so sore." Pippin said, kicking Diamond for no good reason. "Pippin! Maybe _that__'__s_ _why she doesn__'__t like you!_ You just kicked her! Chivalry, Peregrin, chivalry! I really have a mind to tell your father about this. . ." Merry sighed. "Oh don't, Merry. That's just the way some people are. Like you and him. Complete fools." Diamond chuckled. Merry bit his lip and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Come on you two. I'm leaving _now.__"_ And the three headed out.


	3. The Bet

**J.M.J.**

**Chapter Three: The Bet**

"Eat your whole. . ." Estella said, shooting Merry a heated glance, "_belated meal._ Being out all day should've made you want to eat like Fatty!" Fredregar raised an eyebrow at Pippin.

"If you're not going to finish that."

And he swooped the un-hungry hobbit's plate away. "Take it." Pippin mumbled with a sigh. Estella unexpectedly thumped Merry on the back of the head, crying out, "What in the world did you do to him you meanie? You probably said something extremely hurtful, just like your usual self, and that's why he's been so silent."

"THAT'S IT!" Merry roared, standing up from his spot at the table. "I shall not sit here and be harassed while Pippin gets all of the attention _because he lost himself!_ That's right Mrs. Brandybuck! HE lost HIMSELF, and not me!" He pounded his fist on the table and left the room, still shouting. "It's always _Pippin this _and_ Pippin that!_ You know he's not a spoiled Thain's boy!" Pippin stood up fromhis spot and stomped into the other room. Estella sat there winced as Merry and Pippin yelled and screamed at each other.

"IF YOU CALL ME SPOILED ONE MORE TIME I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU!"

"WELL YOU ARE IN THERE POUTING LIKE A CHILD OVER WHAT I KNOW NOT!"

"I AM **NOT POUTING! **I'M WORRYING ABOUT SOMETHING!"

"BUT YOU'RE MAKING ESTELLA VERY ANGRY WITH ME!"

"THEN I'LL LEAVE! YOU CAN HAVE THE STUPID HOUSE ALL TO YOUR DANG SELF. I WILL GO AND FIND MA'SELF A HOLE, A WAY OF MAKIN' A LIVIN' AND THROUGH AND THROUGH, _I__'__LL EVEN GET A __**WIFE!**_"

There were various gasps from the kitchen. Merry crossed his arms across his chest while squinting his eyes and grinning.

"Mr. Took, I'll make a bet of this entire house that you don't find a lass that suits your picky taste. I really do think that you will be so Tookishly determined to go on with things that you _will_ get settled, but you'll be so terribly stubborn in choosing that you are going to marry one of your _first cousins!__"_

Pippin's mouth dropped open.

"Now doing that is what all of the lower class does! I'm not a Gamgee nor Brownlock nor Cotton nor Bracegirdle! **I am a **_**Took.**_"

"Peregrin, sometimes I wish you were something different! Tooks are so stubborn almost all the time they insist on getting their way!" Merry said loudly, and to tell the truth, obnoxiously. "But my father's sister is your mother, so that makes _you_ half Took!" Pippin said, poking his finger roughly on Merry's forehead. "What is up with people's obsession with whacking me in the head today?" Merry cried, poking him right back. "You are just _really _irritated today, so just calm down and go finish your supper. I'm going to bed now, so goodnight." Peregrin said reasonably. Merry irately knit his brows together. "I'll go and sit, but I won't eat, because I'm not eating any food that a collaborator makes. It's probably poisoned." He said even louder, straining to have his wife catch the words. Pippin lividly marched out of the room.

From his bed, Pippin overheard the heated debate that Merry and Estella were having. "I really don't care, Merry! You're not suppose to make bets on the entire house, you know Pippin's going to do what he said he is, even if he doesn't follow through with the bet." Estella insisted. "What are you talking about?! Pippin _never_ follows through with anything! Have you figured that out yet?" Merry cried out in frustration, not seeing how she didn't ever see his cousin's faults. Estella raised her eyebrows.

"You just want to find fault with him right now because you're upset. It's my fault, so don't get mad at him. You two have your little tiffs sometimes, but you've never been really angered with him, nor he with you. I'm not going to apologize, so expect to get one."

Merry heaved a sigh. "That's what the matter is with you. You can never apologize. You never have been able to! Remember that time you wouldn't say sorry until I _had to bribe _you with all of these oaths to carry the water bucket to everybody working at threshing time? That made me the joke of Brockenborings for at least three days. Three days."

Estella said sensitively, "Then why didn't you just take "no" for an answer? I mean, you could have just not got an apology." A broad grin spread over Merry's face as he said, "You know, Es'." Pippin then decided to fall into a worried sleep, for the conversation was not for his ears anymore. He was going to have to prove old Merry wrong for once. He still remembered Treebeard's words to his cousin. He had so wished that he would have said them to him.

_You are young and brave, Master Merry. But here is where your part in this tale ends._ Merry hadn't taken that for an answer. _But our friends are out there! We can__'__t just sit here and do nothing. I want to fight for what I love. I want to fight for my people and my home._ Pippin hadn't wanted to fight. He had wanted to follow Treebeard's advice and go home. _Merry,_ he had said, _perhaps we should go home. There__'__s nothing for us here. We__'__ve got the Shire. _Merry had softly scoffed, _Buckland and Fangorn will burn, and everything good and green in this world will be gone. There won__'__t __**be**__ a Shire, Pippin!_

Pippin sucked at his teeth. "Why am I not like Merry?" He groaned. "Who am I fooling? Merry is brave, and I am not. He's Meriadoc the Magnificent, and I'm Peregrin the Coward. The younger one. The one Elrond didn't want to go on the quest, because he was too silly and young. Oh I remember!

"_He__'__s just a boy!__"_

"_He might prove himself useful in time.__"_

"_He would just be an extra burden to the rest of you.__"_

"_I will take full responsibility if anything goes amiss.__"_

"_I trust your judgment, Gandalf, but I do not give my consent on their going. It is your affair.__"_

Drifting off into a uneasy sleep, Pippin sighed some last retiring words, "If. . . only I was like. . . Sam, Frodo, or. . . _Merry. . .__"_


	4. Ordinarily Heroic

**J.M.J.**

**Chapter Four: Ordinarily Heroic**

Diamond moodily poked at her knitting with a needle. She never could knit properly. "What's the matter Di', you're usually so enthusiastic about knitting." Her brother Ferbenas said jollily. "Oh I don't know. It's just that . . . well, to put it in two words, let's just say Peregrin Took." Diamond answered, tossing her "scarf" onto the rug, "I think he hates me, Ben."

"Hmmm, let's think about it. You haven't really been on good terms with the lad ever. He tried to make up with you when he got back, but you wouldn't have any of it. So yes, he probably hates you." Ben summed up. "But I've decided he isn't so bad after all! I mean, he knows quite a bit for a hobbit, and that's something I admire in him." Diamond said as if to herself."

"Well," her brother said with a mild-mannered tone. ", it seems to be a bit too late for that, eh Di'?" Diamond picked at a thread in her bodice. "I suppose." She mumbled, "He _is_ only a spoiled Thain's boy after all." Ben grinned. "I guess." Diamond said, heaving a sigh. "What?! You mean you're not going to start bashing him and not stopping until I just leave the room? I dare say something odd has happened to you." Ben exclaimed, taking his pipe out of his mouth.

"Now Ferbenas. . . don't go and start assuming things!"

"I dare say you've come to. . ." Ben started.

"No! Don't you dare say it; it's blasphemy, that's what is!"

"Melda heri, melinyes. Alámenë. Tenna enta lúmë, Namàrië." Ben spoke in High Elvish, twirling his pipe in his fingers. "Ben! Please, that's very incorrect. Beloved lady indeed! Anyways, speaking Quenya is what got him really riled up, like I was too plain to know such things!" Diamond cried out. "Well, I'm assuming you are taking back the "he isn't so bad after all" bit?" Ben questioned. "Possibly." Diamond fired back, eyes flashing. "Please don't start being as blunt and peculiar as Estella Bolger!" Ben pleaded. "You mean Estella Brandybuck, Ferbenas! She's _Maragmba__'__s _wife now." Ben choked on the smoke in this pipe when Diamond said that.

"Let him hear you call him that in his face, and then you won't be so cocky!"

"He is a _wan norsa!__"_ Di' exclaimed. "Giant, yes. Goose, no. I really wish you'd stop talking about those two with so much contempt! I've herd those stories about them, really heroic. It makes a fellow wish that he'd gone and done something worth doing, too." Ben dreamily murmured, spewing smoke out of his mouth in a stream. "Now don't you go and start getting that wander-lust!" Diamond said with a soft, yet firm tone, "If you would've gone, if you'd have even known about it, you'd have been sorely missed here. You did the Shire a great service, Ben. The way you protected all of those families. . ."

"No, Di'. Meriadoc and Peregrin were the real ones that were sorely missed. I mean, when they returned, they set things to rights again. Don't go worrying about me hitting the road, I would be too cowardly. I'm just ordinary." Ferbenas sighed with longing. "Yes, Ben! You _are_ ordinary, ordinary in a simple, perfect and heroic way. Some people are called to bravery in some ways, some people, in others. And I would choose the quiet way over the pomp and show of being heroic! Just like those big braggers Pippin and Merry! I'll never kiss-up to those geese who think they're something else." Diamond vented with an outburst of emotion.

Ben looked at his feet and shuffled them shyly. "Your right, Di'. I should not have been wishful about such things. But as you said yourself, everyone's called to a different path, some more glamorous than others. Alas, they really all amount to the same thing in the end. We both saved lives. Just remember this: A person is a person, no matter how small. A great heart can live inside the littlest somebody, and the smallest in the largest." Diamond swallowed hard. She had never thought about it that way. To her, hobbits were useless and ignorant, and she hated being one of them, which is why she took it upon herself to learn the language of the elves, and teach it to Ben while she was at it. Doubt still lingered in her heart, though.

"But Ben! Hobbits are made of the stuff of the earth, nothing more, and perhaps less."

Ferbenas stood up and squared his shoulders, reminding her much of an angry Pippin. "Yes Diamond Took! We are made of the stuff of the earth, and proud of it! Hobbits now have higher reckoning than you think, _for we have great hearts!__"_ He said empathetically, grabbing her by the shoulders, "We are hard to break, and that's what Big People envy. Even Elves admire our wills of iron."

"How do you know this, you have never left the Shire borders." Diamond questioned with for once in her life, a broken spirit. "You can tell," Ben whispered with a gleam in his eye, ", just by listening. The way Merry's spirit soars when he tells about his travels. The way Pippin's eyes sparkle when he relates to somebody the King's coronation on the Cormallen Fields. Then there's Sam. What a look he'll give you if you ask at all! Pip and Merry have cut a great dash in the Shire, but he remains hidden from the public eye. And he has the greatest heart of them all! Just to hear him tell. . ." Diamond coldly interrupted, "I have. Peregrin told me all about it. I saw no soaring spirit, no sparkling eyes, no beautiful look, just a silly boy WHO HAS LIED TO YOU ALL!"

With that, she tearfully went to get a breath of fresh air. _I wish I had seen what Ben had. . . something believable to hold on to. But no matter how hard I try, I can__'__t believe Pippin Took! It__'__s in my very blood to not like the lad. _Diamond thought as the wind tussled her hair around her cheeks. Her hole was positioned on top of a great hill, over looking the pleasant scene of Tuckborough, the chief village of the Tooks. She let a smile creep across her face as a hobbit down below wailed away on a set of bagpipes, walking in step with the beat. As a girl, her father taught her to play on them, and she used to do lively reels with all sixteen brothers. They were the best of Tooks, and all Tooks played the pipes.

Alas, the sweet memory lasted but a second, for the day she and Peregrin met had bagpipes involved quite a lot. Not a day worth thinking about; that was the day that had started their rivalry, and she had been only five and he, ten! Diamond looked down at the piper, memories popping up in her head. She stayed long in that spot on the threshold until the night intermingled with day, casting long and deep shadows over the rolling landscape. Ben eventually came and got her. "Di'," he said, touching her shoulder with the tips of his fingers, ", you had better come in and eat your supper, it's getting a wee bit cold." Diamond stirred out of her daze with a start. "Oh, quite right you are Ben. I guess I've guiltily been indulging in old Thenno's evening piping."

She turned to turn the doorknob. "Diamond, is all well between us?" Ben unsurely asked. Diamond turned around with a bright smile that told that there were no hard feelings between she and he, and his warm nod said he was of like mind. Diamond and Ferbenas ended the night on a pleasant note. So it was over. All's well that ends well, but not quite. .


	5. All Bets On

**J.M.J.**

**Chapter Five: All Bets On **

"Right, and _you_ are. . .?" Pippin asked, very business like, with a touch of dignity, I might add. "Err, why am I here, again Pippin?" Columbine Brandybuck inquired with a slight nervous shuffle of her weight from side to side. And I think I _would_ be nervous, if a distant relative invited me over on "business matters", not giving a reason whatsoever about what, then sat opposite of me behind a large hunky desk, all the while staring severely behind a pair of foreboding looking spectacles, which _did not_ give the impression of strained eyes. Wouldn't you? So Columbine had perfect reason to be nervous, for cousin Pippin was normally very. . . un-concentrated. Today he was unusually intense.

"Pip, you know my name, um, is something wrong?" Columbine fretted. "NO!" Pippin roared, whipping out a long birch-wood switch from under the desk and bringing it down on the palm of his hand, wincing as he did so. Columbine hid a smile down the front of her bodice. _This won__'__t last long!_ She thought with a twinge of relief, Pippin was just putting on an act, and a convincing one for a change. "Yes, yes. I have wanted to interview you." Pippin no-nonsense-like said.

"About?"

Columbine quizzically cocked her head in anticipation. "Alright, well let's begin." Pippin said, avoiding her question. "First, I'd like to know _what_ exactly I am being interviewed about." The bewildered lass asked.

"Mm-hm. Well, so, do you have any annoying habits that I don't know about?"

Pippin was still dodging her inquiry. Columbine heaved a sigh. Had that adventure permanently damaged his skull? "Answer me now, Peregrin." She commanded sternly wagged her finger.

"_Who_ is giving this interview?"

Pippin's eyebrows furrowed together in a fading sternness, and he was getting nervous himself, he had practiced being sober and stuffy for a whole week straight; Merry had said _that_ was the way to be when giving an interview. It just hit him that all Merry was probably trying to do was make a joke of his little gullible cousin, and get off scot-free himself. Ha-ha. "Columbine, to put it bluntly, I'm looking for lasses from eligible families to. . . uh. . ." Pippin took a glance at the girl sitting there and thinking he'd gone plumb crazy. ". . . tend the house while I'm on my yearly journey to Ithilean." He mumbled with a sudden lack of courage. Columbine's face brightened considerably.

"Of course! I'd love to keep house at. . . where do you live? Crickhollow, I believe?"

Pippin's face darkened considerably.

"Yes, I mean no! I mean. . . Oh bother!"

He sunk down in his large oak chair, made to fit. "Never mind it. I don't need anybody to take care of anything at all. But," he suddenly stood up and walked over to the front door, buttoning on his weskit and slinging on an overcoat. ", you've been most helpful, so don't feel bad." Planting a felt hat on his head, he left with the door swinging on its hinges. Columbine laughed and laughed. "Goodbye, Pippin!" She called to and him, still in hysterics.

"Sooo. . .," Merry sauntered out of the _Golden Perch_, looking slightly on the tipsy side. ", how did it go m'lad?" he said with a sleepy look. "Terrible, thanks to your genius in advice. For heaven's sake, Merry! Come over here." Pippin exclaimed. "Allllllright!" Merry said, and shuffled off in the other direction, shaking an already shaky finger to the right. "No, Merry!" Pippin said calmly, with a roll of his eyes. Taking his indisposed cousin by the shoulders, he led him to a bucket of water and dunked his head in, held it there for a few seconds, then released him. "PIPPIN! I'm most certainly FINE!" Merry yelled with curls dripping. "Right and I am a wizard. You've been drinking too much, Merry." Pippin mumbled. "You've been smoking too much, Pippin." Merry retorted.

"I came over here to ask you for a favor, a big one at that." The annoyed Took said with some condescension. "What? Are you pulling out of the bet, it'd be just like you." Merry vexed. Pippin lividly quaked, the ends of his almost-golden hair vibrated. "I've come to ask," he spoke slowly, trying to control his anger, ", if you would STOP GIVING ME SUGGESTIONS!" Merry casually leaned up against a pony's rear. "Sure, if you'll break the bet."

Pippin drew a deep breath. "The answer is no, and I'm going to give _you_ a suggestion now, Meriadoc."

"What?"

"Stop lounging around on that horse's behind."

With that, Pippin gave the animal a smack, and away flew Mr. Brandybuck. These two were dead serious, and it all came back around to those other two whom were a great cause to this bet; Diamond and Estella. If I may quote the quotable Samwise the Brave: "Never tangle with a lass, it means trouble." And may I quote the most quotable Gaffer: "Stupid is as stupid does."

Oo-oO

"Wennibald? _Wennibald? _Wennibald is very plump. No, Wennibald is _fat._"

"Wennibald is just. . . err, healthy. Anyways, Fredregar has got her beat by five pounds!"

"Merry, I'm not calling anything off, so don't _look_ at me like that!"

"Alright, alright. I'm just saying that you don't look so confidant."

"I couldn't be more confident than I always am, and that's extremely. So don't you worry, just start packing."

"Pack yourself, Pip."

"Have I ever chickened out? Have I ever, I want an honest answer young hobbit!"

"No."

"Thank you for not being honest."

"Yes."

"Yes what, Merry?"

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, you have been a chicken, and you scream like a lass."

"Scream like a _lass?_ Why, you happen to bellow like a cow. When we all were at Amon Sul, and those Black Riders were coming along, you really _bellowed_."

At the mention of Black Riders, Merry took a deep breath and rubbed his arm.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot not to bring it up, won't happen again. I promise!" Pippin quickly apologized. His cousin didn't like the subject of Black Riders, because of his painful experience with one of them. Let me rephrase that; a near death experience. "Merry, hello?" Pippin said, waving a hand in front of Merry's face. "Excuse me, Pippin! I shouldn't let those things bother me so much, it's just. . . I can't very well explain to you how something like that can never really be forgotten completely; it's always relived in your mind. But if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here now." Merry said, feeling a twang of remorse about giving his companion a hard time. "Oh, don't worry about that at all; I was just taking care of you, like Gandalf said." Pippin said nonchalantly. "Um, Pip, I think Gandalf said that to _me._" Merry perplexedly said, scratching his head. Pippin laid a hand on Merry's shoulder.

"That's alright; I just acted like he said that to me. Anyways, for once you got yourself into trouble, instead of me, and _I_ was the one getting you out of it."

Merry chuckled, "Yes, and I'm most certainly glad you did. It's a relief to think that Gandalf convinced Elrond into letting you come along; it would've been disastrous if you wouldn't have. You're not 'Little Pippin' anymore, literally and not!" Pippin's heart glowed as Merry talked about his usefulness in the Quest. "Good ma' lad! I was begging to think that I was just a piece of luggage to everyone. This is most reassuring!" he exclaimed happily. "My goodness Peregrin! You _do_ seem to have been worrying, which is not like you. At least, I _think_ it's not like you. Oh dear!" he cried, glancing at his pocket watch, "Were going to be late!" Pippin jumped.

"Well, then, get a move on if you please!"


	6. Fresh Air

**J.M.J.**

**Chapter Six: Fresh Air**

"Do you think this looks to plain for a dance?" Diamond asked her brother. Ben rolled his eyes.

"Since you don't have anything else, I suppose it doesn't matter much."

Diamond still fretted, patting her skirts anxiously.

"Yes, but won't people think us rather austere if I come in just a dinner party frock?"

"Di', nobody will think anything about us, it's not like we're the Bracegirdles, who need to be all 'uppity' because they don't have a reputation to back them up, like us." Ben clarified. "If you say so, but I shall be sitting in a corner the whole time, unnoticed." Diamond sulked. "If so, which is extremely unlikely, knowing you, _I_ shall dance with you. And who cares about what you're dressed at?" Ben questioned, wondering at the ways of a lass. "_Estel, _nobody will notice, like you said." Diamond hoped. Ben wagged a finger with an ornery smile.

"Uh-uh-uh, _no High Elvish!__"_

Later, they were just trotting up to the _Ivy Bush _a well respected pub; it was one of the last ones to be destroyed by the Ruffians, now rebuilt, of course.

"Oh look, Di'! Pip- Oh. I mean Estella and Fatty are here, won't that be gay? They're loads of fun!"

Ben tried to cover up his mentioning that Pippin was there.

"Ben, Estella is not especially joyful, she is the serious type, and Fatty is always stuffing his face, and yes, I _know _Pippin is here, and I'm completely cool, calm and collected."

Diamond was handling the situation with an unusual self-control. "Well then, I guess we should go on in." Ben said bluntly. On entering the _Ivy Bush_, the siblings noticed a large crowd gathered around in a tight circle. "I wonder what is happening over there. . ." Ben speculated. Diamond decided to push through the crowd.

"Please, please let me through! Thank you, oh! I'm sorry; I need to squeeze by, ow! Excuse me, no, the fault's all mine, thank you. **MY WORD!****"**

Upon reaching the center off the circle, Diamond saw Pippin showing everyone his chainmail shirt, which he had fixed on wearing under his blouse to show off later. _**"**__**YOU ARE DISGRACEFUL, PEREGRIN!**__**"**_ Diamond, infuriated, yelled. Pippin looked up from his glorious moment.

"Oh, hello Di'."

He shrugged. "Are you all going to _condone _this, this, impudent behavior?!" Diamond conjectured in astonishment; her heart had unpredictably dropped at Pippin's dismissive shrug. "What's up with you, Di'?" A dark haired hobbit asked. Diamond turned to face Evrard Took, the lad who seemed too always seemed to be annoying Pippin and impressing Diamond. "Oh, hello Evrard, I had no idea you were here!" Diamond said with a sweet change in her voice. Pippin stormily yanked his blouse back over his chainmail, mumbling, "When did _he_ start calling _her_ Di', that little idiot, shooting his mouth off again."

Merry noiselessly snickered at Pippin from across the room; he wasn't the "swaggers it up" type, and he usually disliked widespread attention. "Well Di', I'm here for the summer on farm business for my late father. I've been running the place by myself, with no hired, well, anybody!" Evrard boasted, putting his thumbs behind his braces. "I imagine it must be weakening work, but if I know you, you'll do an excellent effort with it!" Diamond flattered. "Ha!" Pippin loudly ridiculed, "You couldn't do a days work in the fields if your life depended on it, so don't say otherwise, it'd be deceitful!" Evrard narrowed his eyes. "You may be a good four inches taller than me, but I won't take any of your lip!" he said, coming right up to the other, their eyes a smoldering line of fire. "And I won't listen to any of your bragging about how wonderful you are." Pippin heatedly breathed. Diamond was no one to stay out of a fight.

"Pippin, you have no room to talk, weren't you just now swanking yourself? Sometimes I just can't figure you out, you're a charlatan, is what you are!"

Pippin smiled good-naturedly to the crowd of inquisitive hobbits listening in on the argument. Looking back to Diamond, he outwardly showed sympathy to a pathetic life form; inwardly, he felt a flicker of admiration for her Tookish attitude. He admired anyone like that acted like a Took. He might have even felt a flicker of jealousy. "I'm so sorry that you feel that . . . way. . ." Pippin's witty retort faded into stuttering as Diamond's green eyes melted his insides into jelly.

"I. . . err. . . wanted to say. . . that. . ."

Diamond grimaced and intimidated poor Pippin by coming to three inches away from his face. "It _better_ be _good_." She growled.

". . . that you have very scary eyeballs, and you are very um. . ." Pippin blushed at embarrassing thoughts. ". . . look quite nice tonight, would you please stop demoralizing me?" Diamond looked satisfied enough. "Yes, as you wish." She answered, hesitantly removing her gaze from his. Later, Pippin was sitting on a crate at the back of the pub, sipping at a pint. Out of breath and laughing, Merry came over from dancing and dumped down beside him.

"Come over and have a dance with Diamond, she practically been staring at you all night long!"

Pippin feigned shock.

"What? You think that_ Diamond Took_ has been looking at _me?_ How absurd; Es' must have gave you one too many spins that last time!"

Merry raised an eyebrow as Pippin stole a sideways glance at Diamond, who was doing the exact same thing while "getting a drink" for the thousandth time. "Alright, play your games; the bet does not seem to be going in my favor!" Merry sighed as Pippin indignantly scoffed at "such folly". Pippin remained at his post. Meanwhile, Diamond was getting bored with everything going on around her. Nothing her brother said could make her stop sulking about, poking at things and generally just being uninterested.

"Come on Diamond! Everybody's wondering where you're at, why don't you come and dance? Look, your favorite reel is playing!"

Ben tried and tried, but got nothing out of her except that she wanted a breath of fresh air. "Fine, have it your way, I'm not going to mess with your temporary melancholy." He said, quite bothered. Diamond slowly walked out of the _Ivy Bush_. "Ah!" she sighed contentedly as a cooling wind refreshed her, a nice change from the stuffy atmosphere of the pub. _Maybe I was a little to rough on him . . ._ she thought while picked the petals off a late gowan dangling off a flowerbox. _After all, he didn__'__t really embarrass me back there. He used a reasonable amount of self-control and will power, with a touch of restraint against his lack of common sense, which __**is**__ an improvement, for him at least._ Diamond tried to convince herself that he was acquiring an improved manner at last.

But what she really knew was that a meaningful look passed between her and Pippin back in the pub. She saw he wasn't all that spoiled and proud, and he saw that she wasn't so difficult and complex as he thought. There was a soft side to both of them.

"I'm so _bored_!" Two voices suddenly said at once.

Diamond swiftly looked over to left. "Oh, I should go!" They both said together again, standing up. "No, please sit. . ." Diamond started. ". . . down." Pippin finished. They simultaneously sat on the edging. Pippin angled himself away from her, sitting on the ledge of the hole's siding, (or half-hole, I should say; it was built merging out of a bank.) Diamond glanced over to see if he wasn't looking, then she quickly smoothed her hair down. Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, twenty minutes passed.

_Snap, ping! Snap, ping! Snap, ping! _

A dull dinging noise broke the absence of sound, besides the crickets, and an occasional larkspur's throttle. Pippin was snapping his suspenders against his chainmail shirt. Thirty more seconds of him doing that, and Diamond was about to go insane. _I__'__ll just show him how__** annoying**__ that can be._ Diamond irritably thought.

_Stretch, __boing, __**thud, **__stretch, __boing, __**thud.**_

Pippin's eyelid twitched as Diamond started to pop off the elastic cords that held her bodice together, each one had an unpleasant, and rather nerve racking sound. Pippin's eyes bugged out of his head. Plucking up a bit of courage he turned his back from Diamond and tried to think of something to say. Nothing came to mind. He gave a short, nervous smile and a quick wave. Diamond was a master at controlling the looks on her face, unlike Pippin. She steadily met him in the eye. Pippin's mouth hung open slightly; he was blank. "Hi." Diamond broke the ice. "Hello." Pippin faintly said, waving his fingers.

"Alright, what do you want?" Again, they both spoke in unison.

"Err, uh, what's that metal weskit that you had on?" Diamond thought of something random. Pippin's face brightened. "You really want to see what it is?" he said enthusiastically. "Um, sure!" Diamond said. Pippin quickly ripped his blouse off and proudly pointed to the sable of Gondor; a white tree with seven stars on a deep blue field. His middle seemed to fade in with the late evening, only the tree and stars showing. Chainmail sleeves hung out of the tunic. "Really, it's beautiful." Diamond marveled, running her finger tips down the embroidered hem of the neckline, but withdrawing shyly. "I won't bite you, I promise!" Pippin laughed.

"Ah. Just like you'd get to the river on time . . . like you'd find a shortcut . . . like . . . um, what's the latest?" Diamond playfully questioned him, no spite in her voice for a change. Pippin sighed. "Well, I've got m'self stuck in this bet with ol' Merry. And it's not going very well at all, you see, we wagered on the house at Crickhollow." Diamond bit her lip with curiosity.

"Pray, if I may be so bold, about what?"

Pippin blushed as rosy as a peach.

"Well. . . I've got to . . . settle down."

Diamond's heart went thumping out of her chest for no particular reason. "Oh, oh my. You don't want to, do you?" she asked. "I suppose I'd like to, I'm starting to get older, well, older than a boy, at least not as young as when I went on my adventures." Pippin said. "Everybody was always talking about how young I was! It got to be a little annoying. The problem is, I can't find anybody I really seem to like. At all. You won't believe how hard of a time Merry gives me about it! It's always, "Pippin, you'll never follow through with this one, like usual!" But I've got plans up my sleeve Di'. Just as he decides to claim his part of the bet, I'll be right there, with the perfect person!"

Diamond was quite thunderstruck; Pippin, the forever-bachelor, _talking like this?!_ She scratched her head thoughtfully, and with a perfectly brilliant idea.

"I am sorry for your predicament, Pip. But I have a very close to wonderful notion!"

"Please tell."

Pippin anxiously leaned forward. "Well," Diamond began, ", let us say that you had some help in your, how can I put it? Search, I suppose, and then it all worked out." "What kind of help?" Pippin inquired, also with a perfectly brilliant idea. "I have connections with some fine young lasses . . ." Diamond cleverly put it. "Right, that you do! You'll find somebody yet, if I know you, Di'!" Pippin exclaimed, patting her shoulder. "Alright then, Pippin, I dearly hope to see you soon." Diamond said quietly. "Yes, I hope we meet again soon, Diamond." Pippin returned with the tiniest smile.

"Diamond! Where arrrrrrre yoooou?"

A voice called from the door of the _Ivy Bush_. "I, I have to go now, goodbye." Diamond quickly said, then vanished into the shadows. "Goodbye. . . Diamond." Pippin almost whispered. _Yes._ He thought with a contentment that he hadn't had for a long time. _I__'__ll propose tomorrow._


	7. Hurt

**Chapter Seven: Hurt **

Soon after the party, Pippin, Merry and Estella were headed back to Crickhollow together in their trap. "Hey," Merry nudged Estella, who was barely awake and leaning up against him. ", do you think Pippin has been particularly standoffish tonight?" he questioned, giving the reins a flick after hearing some discomforting howls in the distance.

"Standoffish? I guess so, now that you mention it. He wasn't inside most of the time; he was probably just touchy tonight." Estella yawned. Merry glanced back at sleeping Pippin, who had his head alongside the headboard of the trap they were in. "Sure, just touchy." He unsurely muttered. More howls sounded in the near distance. Estella fully sat up.

"Merry, don't you think we should pick the pace up a little more?"

Merry furrowed his brows in thought. "They don't seem too close, and I don't want to attract any attention to ourselves by going faster." He said quietly. Ten minutes passed by, the howls getting closer every second. Merry by now looked worried, they were in Thornbrimmit woods; nobody lived close by. In fact, this was the same trail Frodo and company had trodden on their way to Buckland. "Es', wake up Pippin." He uneasily uttered, breaking the ponies into a trot. The cry of a wolf running alongside in the bordering forest made Estella speedily shake Pippin awake. "Pippin! Pippin! Get up, there's wolves coming up on us." She said, panicking.

"Huh? There's what?" he groggily murmured. "Oh! Wolves!" Pippin yelled, jumping up when he herd a howl. By now, they were in full gallop with some canines daring to start to close in. "Pip!" Merry called. "Did'ja bring any weapons at all? Spear, sword. . ." Pippin managed a nervous smile as he unsheathed his Westron sword from a black sheath lying hidden on the floorboard.

"Got it."

"Look underneath. . . steady girl!. . . that canvas thing to the right, yeah, that's it." Merry directed. "Very hilarious and quite ironical, Meriadoc." Pippin chuckled as he withdrew a sword in a red leather sheath that was marked, _M.B_ in gold letters. "Why in the world. . ." he started, but Merry interrupted. "Never mind _why _Peregrin, just _do_ something."

"What?! Do what? **What **do I do, exactly?" Pippin edgily questioned. "Merry, _**do something!**_" Estella shouted as a wolf snapped at the pony, who was terrified and making the cart overcorrect itself. "What?! What do I do?!" Merry franticly yelled. "How about being careful turning this bend? Slow down!" Estella exclaimed. "Yah, Merry, you had better slow down on this turn. Merry, go slower!" Pippin said loudly as Merry struggled with the pony, who was not cooperating. "She won't go any slower than this, yikes! Brace yourselves!" The trap sharply turned the corner, yet leaned so far in that it went tumbling head over end into the woods. So did the hobbits.

The wolves' howls faded into the distance as they chased after the fleeing pony. Merry was stuck in the branches of a tree, Estella had been caught underneath the cart and Pippin was in a ditch some paces away. For a few minutes, the hobbits lay or hung there in shock. Finally, some groans emitted from the up-turned trap. "Estella! Pippin! Are you alright?" Merry called, wildly struggling to get free. As he dropped to the forest floor, Merry painfully touched his throbbing shoulder. Looking at his hand he saw that it was covered in blood.

"Estella? Are you in there?"

He staggered over to the cart. "I'm in here, none the worse except for a bruised head and a sore rear end." Estella bravely called out, shook up though she was. "Thank heavens! It's alright; I'll get you out of there if you'll give me a minute." Merry said to her, kicking down the siding of the trap. "Are you hurt at all?" Estella asked as the dust settled. Merry's figure was silhouetted against the fog that had moonlight streaming through it. "Not much, I just have a scrape." He said, helping Estella out, who was shaking. "You okay?" He laughed as she unsteadily tried to walk.

"_I__'__m_ fine. But _you_ have a bloody shoulder that is not a scrape."

She clicked at his wound. Merry looked at her strangely.

"Where's Pippin?"

"I thought he was with you."

"No, I was in a tree."

Merry winced as a gush of blood came pulsing out of his shoulder, staining his shirt crimson. "We've, we've got to find Pippin!" he fearfully exclaimed, sinking to his knees with aching.

"We'll find him in a little while you need to take it easy right now."

With an effort, he stood up and scanned the woods for his cousin.

"I need to go and find him, Es'! He's probably out there . . . hurt!"

"Merry, Merry! You can't go looking for him now, you'll bleed to death." Estella entreated her husband. He hesitantly agreed to be taken care of. "Ouch! You don't need to poke it." Merry whined as Estella

dabbed at his shoulder with her frock.

"I'm not _poking_ it; I'm just wiping the blood off."

Merry was being obstinate.

"Lie down, Meriadoc, and it will feel better. Every time you sit up it starts bleeding again!"

He flopped down on his back. "Sorry. I'm just worried about. . ." ". . . Pippin, I know." Estella finished. "I am too, but you can not go and look for him with your shoulder bleeding. Now go to sleep and you'll wake up refreshed." She soothed, brushing the twigs out of his hair. "What about you?" Merry drowsily mumbled. "I can go and locate Pippin, if that's what you're after." She teased, knowing Merry would take it seriously.

"You've got a bruise, and I've got a gash and Pippin is probably doing fine. We'll search for the lad in the morning."

Estella thought sleep looked mighty fine at the moment, yet her heart still ached for the safety of Pippin. "Fine, you get your way; we will find him in the morning." She said, laying down and immediately falling asleep. Pippin was, after all, probably just fine.

Oo-oO

Pippin awoke on his back looking up at the lofty rowans looming over his head. The sunlight streamed down through the branches in golden rays and kissed him awake. "Uhhh. . ." he groaned. Forgetting the pain that coursed through his chest, Pippin sat up, inhaling sharply. _Where am I?_ He thought. Then it hit him. He remembered how they crashed; he had tried to keep Estella from flying out of the cart as they tumbled down the steep hill, but he had been flung far away as the trap hit a tree, and he had broke some ribs, he thought. He had excruciatingly stumbled in one direction, but after a while had collapsed in pain. Pippin looked around himself at the surrounding trees.

_I can__'__t breathe. . ._

It felt as if something were stuck in his throat. Every breath was agonizing, taken in short intervals. Getting to his feet with the help of a near-by sapling, Pippin started to set off in the direction of the road, panting. _At last!_ He thought, relief sweeping over him. A road that wanted for wear was seen through a clearing. Staggering up to it, Pippin, exhausted, dropped down on the side of the road. His hand went over his breast as fever swept over him. Hot tears unwillingly stung his eyes. _After everything I__'__ve been through, it all ends here, in the Shire. This is more painful than anything on the quest . . . but I suppose it__'__s better to die at home than in a far-away place, though._ And with those last thoughts, he gave up and passed out.

Oo-oO

"It'll be fine, Merry. He's out there somewhere." Estella reassured Merry after three fruitless hours of looking for Pippin. "One of those beastly wolves probably got him." Merry said without emotion, "And it's my fault." Estella sighed and laid a hand on his good shoulder. "How is it your fault?" she asked.

"I'm. . . responsible for him in a way. You know what I mean."

"No, I don't. You're not his keeper, and the blame for anything that happened does not rest on your shoulders." Estella insisted, yet turning around with watery eyes at the mere thought of something happening to Pippin. "Es'," Merry comforted, slipping a hand into hers, "don't cry. He'll turn up soon, you'll see." "Look," Estella said, sniffling. ", your best waistcoat is torn, and so is your sleeve." She gently lifted up the ripped cloth and placed it over the spot where he was wounded. "I know you will mend it up again." Merry whispered. Estella nodded, comforted.


	8. Best Friends

**J.M.J.**

**Chapter Eight: Best Friends**

A blurry figure leaned over Pippin. "Gandalf, forgive me!" he said in a hallucination. _No Pippin! You__'__re safe and well now. Wake up if you can._ A far-away voice echoed. The figure above him went from nothingness to a blur of colors, and a pungent and strong aroma filled his nostrils. "Am I dead?" he said in a faint undertone, noticing that a heavy steam filled the room where he lay.

"No, you're quite alive on the contrary. Alive, thank the Valar, with only a few broken ribs and a high fever."

Pippin moaned in frustration, "I can't see anything."

"No, not for a while you won't be able to. But I'll be here with you forever and a day, you can count on that."

"Where are Merry and Estella? Are . . . are they safe?" Pippin asked, blinking and trying to see past a blur. "We've people searching the forest already for them; it won't be long now until they are found." The voice said cheerily, "Oh dear! It's time to change the poultice again." Pippin kept wondering who it was that was taking care of him. "May I ask who you are?" he struggled with breath.

"Don't you know me Pip? Oh yes, you can't see anything but a blur because of the poultice. It's Diamond, Pippin!"

A smile broke into Pippin's constant frown.

"D-diamond! Where, why, how. . ."

Diamond hushed him with a finger across his lips.

"My brother found you lying on the side of the road. He brought you here."

Pippin looked dazed, asking, "Where's 'here'?" Diamond grinned while slowly pulling the mustard plaster off of him, replying with one blessed word, "Tuckborough." Pippin started. "You mean. . . I'm home?" he wondered with merriment, for he hadn't been where he had grown up for about two years now, the wreckage of the Shire had called for his attention elsewhere; Tooks knew how to stand their ground when it came to the land they owned, so Tookland was safe from damage. "Yes you're home, and where you belong! You are sick and very weak, and not leaving this bed until your rib heals." Diamond forcefully intoned.

"Well, if the doctor said so. Hey! Who's the doctor?" Pippin questioned, feeling around for something on him that wasn't sore, so he could give himself a pinch to make _sure_ he wasn't dead. "_I__'__m _the doctor." Diamond laughed. Pippin was beginning to worry, he was pinching, but he didn't feel anything.

"Di', I think I'm dead, I can't feel anything at all!"

"Pippin, that's because you're pinching my arm quite hard, and since I don't feel for you, you aren't dead."

Diamond shook her head with amusement. Pippin lively chuckled, yet stopped when his chest contracted with lancing pain that shot up through his shoulders. Diamond fretfully bent down to examine him.

"Pip? Are you alright? Don't laugh any more!"

Pippin couldn't stop, though. "Oh . . . ha-ha . . . Di'! Your hilarious, ha-he,. I'm killing myself with this . . . ha-ha-ha-ha, **laughing!****"**

Diamond couldn't help but start in too at seeing Pippin struggling with himself. "Pippin, he-he-ha, you are going to break another rib . . . hmm, mm, ha! Maybe even your, oh ha . . . voice box!"

"Won't Merry be glad!" he giggled.

"Ah, I see why he wants you out of the house!"

Diamond tried to become serious, unsuccessfully.

"Oh my!"

Pippin gave a last few awkward and excruciating happy laughs.

"I think that did more good for me than a weeks rest, Di', even if I re-broke my rib again."

Diamond grew sober as Pippin's face turned a pale white. "I shall put a cast around you, if I can get somebody to help me turn you over." She said softly. Pippin's lips were drawn in a tight line, but he managed a smile. "Thank you." He got out in a whisper, tenderly touching his side. "I feel for you." Diamond choked. Pippin started the laughing bit again. Snorting, he said, "No you don't, ha-ha! Remember? Hmm hmm hmm, or else I'd be dead . . . ha-ha! Oo, that hurts!" Diamond realized the play on words. Scoffing, she quoted Dora Baggins, the sage of the Shire.

"He who would pun would pick a pocket, Peregrin!"

"Ah, but that's coming from Dora in her dullness against every single joke after those children went and sent her all of these notes with suggestions for her writings such as, 'he who would eat potatoes would steal them.' Like that and of the such." Pippin cheeked. Diamond looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Who was that anyways?"

Pippin bit his lip uneasily.

"Well, that was Merry and I. I was just coming into my tweens, you must remember!"

"What?! Your _tweens?_" Diamond cried,"I would understand if you were coming into your teens, but now Farmer Boffin's beatings, and Mrs. Bolger's agitation, and Dora Baggins unreasonable curtness towards the leading hobbit's sons in the Shire are all completely understandable. You two didn't grow up and stop being so cheeky until your late twenties!" Pippin sighed gladly at such fond memories of being the rascals of the Shire along with Fatty and Estella Bolger.

"Yes, those were the days, so much fun! It was a routine; Merry would come up with some hair-brained idea, get us into loads of trouble, Estella would become furious at him, then they would start fighting, Fatty would try to calm them down, successfully getting a black eye from getting in the way of their brawling!"

Diamond now seemed as curious as ever. "And what would you be doing while all this was going on?" she asked. Pippin looked sheepish, saying, "Well. . . I would usually be moving out of the way until those two had made peace, which more often than not included Merry swearing never to make any plans again, what a liar, and Fatty insisting that they hug one another, which frequently ended up with a "**Varda no!**" and Estella giving him another black eye, or if she was in a real fury, she'd make the black one blue." Diamond appeared to be amused.

"Amazing! And Estella always came back, right?"

"Of course she came back. . . I'm always worth coming back for." Pippin chuckled, "No, she stayed with us mainly because of Merry, if that makes any sense, as much as they argued all the time. Fatty and I usually stayed together when Estella was around and Merry was absorbed." Diamond thought this was quite curious.

"I'm supposing you and Merry weren't always on the best of terms, then."

Pippin sighed. "Not always. When Estella went away for the winter, Merry and I were constantly together; we were inseparable. Yet when she and Fatty came back, there was a tension between him and me. You see, I sort of idolized Merry, and when he never really split his time between Es' and me, I wasn't very thrilled about it. I never understood why Merry was best friends with a girl, he had me, so why did he go lollygagging around with Estella, and he fought with her most of the time, too!" Pippin paused to inhale slowly, "I never did get it, and was never content for that matter until he crossed the thin line of mischief one day, the day after Bilbo's party in fact, and he and she were restricted from each other for five years, or at least until, to put it in Merry's father's words; "Until you scalawags can grow up!" After that, Merry and Es', of course, started fighting in their correspondence to one another; I had to be the peacemaker, since I was being tutored in mathematics at the Bolger residence anyways. I'm horrible in math, or at least I used to be, Fredregar helped me so much, anyways . . ." Pippin started coughing uncontrollably.

"Pip, Pip! Take it easy now; you're supposed to be resting. If Ben found out that you were talking, my head would be off in a. . ." Diamond said frenziedly in a stream of words. "Di', *_cough, cough*,_ calm down! Ben won't know, if he comes, I'll fake asleep." Pippin told her. Diamond took a deep breath. "Okay, your right, just go on." she said.

"Where was I?"

"Merry, Estella, separated. . ."

Pippin started again, "Right, so I tried to make them stop fighting, but it didn't work, I just effectively made Merry extremely upset, he moped about for weeks. Those two, they never _could_ stay mad at one another for long, after the five years were over they started back up with their ridiculous fooling around. It was torture whenever Merry went and "volunteered" at the Bolger's, they needed a hired hand for the place while their father was recovering from the pox. Well, eventually, we got ourselves caught up in Frodo's business, about the Ring and such. It was hard for Merry to leave, but his free spirit got the better of him. I was glad. To me, Estella had kicked the bucket for good, with the exception of his daydreaming. Gimli's even made the comment once, "Sometimes that lad looks like he somewhere else, eh Legolas?" Aragorn had chuckled, "I can guarantee that it's probably a lass." Oh, wasn't Merry embarrassed! He turned as rosy as a peach, I can tell you!

"And when we got back from our travels, Estella was in the worst shape ever. You can bet Merry went about taking care of her for all eternity. When Frodo left. . ." Here Pippin paused and a far-away look passed over his face, "Well, when Frodo left for Tol Eressea, Merry, to my utmost disgust, got married to his apparent greatest friend. The thing is he stayed at Crickhollow. Now bossy old Essie was ordering about the place, and saying it was in a terrible shape, with our rubbish scattered about everywhere. What she called rubbish was all of my important belongings, gifts from Gondor, you know, just things. . ."

Diamond raised an eyebrow. "You mean rubbish." she laughed. "Yeah, your right, most of it _was_ junk. But she tried to throw away my elven cloak! She said it was a pile of rags!" Pippin protested. "It _is_ a pile of rags!" Diamond said. "If you were captured by orcs and beat and whipped, _your_ cloak would become a pile of rags too!" he scoffed, suddenly becoming drowsy. "Yes, well, I don't want to think about being beaten and whipped by orcs." Diamond quickly said. "And having flesh from who knows what thrown at your head!" Pippin exclaimed with drooping eyelids.

"**FLESH?****"**

Diamond practically jumped to the ceiling. "Yes. . ." he trailed off. ". . . I left a lot out when I told you about it . . . you might have been . . . frightened." Pippin slipped off into sleep. "I probably would have been." Diamond whispered, pulling the blanket over him. In the meantime, Pippin had slipped off into a series of scattered subjects of dreaming. . .


	9. In Dreams

**Chapter Nine: In Dreams**

"_Come on!__"_

_Merry nudged Estella. _

"_This is so stupid!__"_

"_Don__'__t go getting us killed, Merry. . .__"_

_Merry whacked Pippin on the back of the head. _

"_Shut up and stop being an idiot!__"_

_Pippin sorely rubbed his neck. _

"_Let__'__s go Essie!__"_

"_Like I said, this is stupid!__"__ she said, frowning. _

"_If I have to throw you over my shoulder and. . .__"_

"_Fine! I__'__m going.__"_

"_That__'__s right you__'__re going. . .__"__ Merry grumbled. _

"_And what if I didn__'__t?__"_

"_Then I would throw you over. . .__"_

"_You aren__'__t strong enough.__"_

_Merry looked furious. _

"_Pippin, give me your belt and we__'__ll tie her up and show her who__'__s boss!__"_

"_I am not tying anyone up, especially a lady, you animal!__"__ Pippin protested. _

"_You want a black eye?__"_

"_No.__"_

"_Then give me your belt.__"_

"_No!__"_

_Merry pinned Pippin down and slipped his belt off. __"__You barbarian!__"__ Estella screamed as Merry tied her hands and feet together. _

"_You . . . can't do. . . THIS!__"_

_Merry grinned in satisfaction, saying, __"__I guess you__'__re all tied up at the moment. Ha, I kill myself.__"__ Estella kept on yelling and hollering. _

"_We can't have you hollering like that! Yes, that is a good idea.__"_

_Merry yanked Pippin__'__s scarf off. _

"_Hey, that__'__s my luckiest thing!__"_

_Merry bent over and gagged Estella. __"__Mmm! Mm-mm-hmm! Hmm-mm-hmm!__"__ Estella choked. _

"_Sorry, Es__'__. But you__'__ll have to stay here if you won__'__t come with us, what was that?__"_

_Merry un-gagged Estella momentarily. _

"_I SAID __**I**__**'**__**M GOING TO HURT YOU!**__**"**_

_Merry quickly covered her mouth again. _

"_Come on, Pippin! It__'__s now or never!__"__. . . _

Pippin's dreams turned to something more bothersome and scarier. . . _"__Pippin! Pippin! Are you awake?__"__ Merry urgently whispered. Pippin groaned awake. _

"_Yeah, I__'__m here Merry. What__'__s going on?__"_

_Merry gave a quick glance at the orc guarding him and Pippin. _

"_Nothing yet. Are you okay?__"_

_Pippin tenderly touched the lash marks on his back, saying, __"__Sure, they don__'__t hurt that much, I mean it could__'__ve been worse, right?__"__ Merry looked concerned. _

"_Pippin, you are going to get yourself murdered! Don__'__t try to run off like that again, I can't lose you.__"_

_Pippin sighed. __"__How did we end up like this, Meriadoc?__"_

"_I don__'__t,__"__ Merry began, yet a huge Uruk-hai came over and kicked Pippin. _

"_Shut your maggoty mouths, or you__'__re in for a lashing!__"_

_With that, the Uruk-hai cracked his whip over Merry__'__s back. __"__Hey!__"__ Pippin cried out, struggling with the bonds on his wrists, __"__Leave him alone you big fat pig!__"__ The tormentor yanked Pippin up by the hair. __"__Ahh!__"__ Pippin yelled. __"__Pippin!__"__ Merry called out feebly, __"__Don__'__t struggle!__"__ The Urik-hai dumped Pippin on the ground, then clouted him in stomach. __"__Let that be a lesson to you.__"__ The Uruk growled, marching away. _

"_Pippin! Now don__'__t tell me __**that**__ didn__'__t hurt!__"_

_Pippin pathetically laughed, __"__Not much, not much at all.__"_

Pippin's nightmare turned into a dream about his coming home. . .

"_Pip, let__'__s head on to Brokenborings, I__'__m itching to see how they fared.__"_

_Pippin rolled his eyes. __"__Yeah right! You are starting back up with Estella again, I should__'__ve known!__"__ Merry scoffed, __"__What? I can__'__t worry about her. . . Fatty was in Michel Delving for goodness sake! Half starved!__"__ Pippin mischievously snickered,. __"__She__'__ll probably be as fat as a pig by the time we get there.__"__ Merry was about to say something he learned from an orc, yet thought better of it, being the civilized hobbit he was. __"__Pippin, you went and checked up on Pervinca, Pimpernel and Pearl. Why can not I see if she had been taken care of? She__'__s my finest friend; don__'__t look at me like that! You__'__re my best one, sometimes.__"__ Merry said with caution. _

"_And what does that mean exactly, Meriadoc?__"_

_Pippin frowned, spurring on his horse to a lope. Merry galloped up beside him. _

"_Pippin, now don__'__t get all up in arms, all I meant was that you make some stupid choices sometimes, and then you__'__re really annoying.__"_

_Pippin screwed up his face, muttering, __"__Estella makes stupid choices a lot of the time and you don__'__t ever seem to mention it.__"__"__Like what?__"__ Merry demanded. __"__Befriending you.__"__ Pippin cheeked. __"__Oh, so I__'__m supposed to hate myself and warn people against me, that__'__s lovely Peregrin.__"__ Merry said, tenderly touching the bandage on his head; he had received a head-blow a few hours ago from a wondering ruffian that had not left the Shire yet. Some blood was beginning to seep through. __"'__Tis.__"__ Pippin answered practical like. __"__You. Are. Impossible! Remind me to never ask you a question, because I__'__ll always end up with a stupid answer.__"__ Merry said, running a palm down his forehead, __"__I__'__m going to Brokenborings whether you like Estella or not.__"__ Pippin grimaced once more. __"__I never said I didn__'__t like Estella!__"__ he fiercely shouted. __"__I just don__'__t like __**you**__ with her all the time.__"_

_Some serious thought went through Merry__'__s mind at that moment. __"__Oh.__"__ He suddenly said with suspicion, __"__I think I see.__"__ Sitting upright in the saddle, he set his jaw, __"__You won__'__t have her, though!__"_

"_What are you talking about now?__"__ Pippin said as Merry trotted away, yet he full knew and understood what he was talking about. Estella had always loved and respected Merry; Pippin knew it. But Pippin had always cared for her, too. Moreover, he was going to let Merry have her, but he couldn__'__t help dropping hints to his companion on the subject of the matter sometimes. This time it looked like Merry had caught on. __"__Merry __**does**__ have a thing about Estella; yet they__'__re not a match for certain! They__'__re both rational and absorbed in thought most of the time, and so terribly prideful! I__'__m all over the place . . . which is why she heeded me not, with the exception of a being a brother. I__'__ll never care for another . . . _


End file.
